Women who FKT

Rachel Boim .pt who identifies as Q***r, set the overall FKT on the Stone Mountain Path, one way and out & back. This route is an 18-paved route with a vertical gain of 1,150ft from DT Atlanta to Stone Mountain Park. Although this was Rachel's longest road, she shares, "It was a rad experience to be able to crush the men's time." Why this FKT? "I grew up in Atlanta. It's empowering to think about moving my body from downtown all the way to the top of Stone Mountain and back again under my own power," says Rachel. Extraordinary Effort Rachel, Congratulations!

Marta Fisher, from the Women Who FKT leadership team, set an FKT on a challenging route on Mt Hood this summer. The Wy’East 4-point Traverse is a 50 mile route that runs halfway around Mt Hood, with 4 detours up ridgelines for side trips. It totals the same distance as a full circumnavigation of Mt Hood but has 50% more vertical gain. Why this FKT? “I love trails with lots of climbing and lots of time above treeline. If I’m being fully honest, I also thought the men’s FKT seemed like a time I could beat.” could not scout out the full route in advance but previewed the first section, which paid off. She says, “During my scouting trip, I found out that one of the 2 possible trails from the start to the first point, Cooper Spur, was completely overgrown. So glad I knew which one to run on the FKT day!” She did a make mistake with timing. “I knew I’d be out longer than my watch battery life, and planned to use my phone to track the last bit. But I forgot to put my phone in battery saving mode in the morning to ensure I had enough juice. All my devices ran out of batteries a mere mile and a half from the finish.” She was close enough to the end that it worked out to calculate the final time, particularly with no previous women’s time, but plans to be more attentive to her timing for her next FKT. How does it feel? “It feels good to have an overall FKT!” What a great effort! Congrats Marta!

Maggie Fox visited Florida and decided it was the perfect time for an FKT. ran the Camp Murphy loop (18 miles) and was just 36 seconds shy of the supported male record! The route begins at the Loxahatchee River, one of Florida’s great wild and scenic rivers near “Trapper Nelsons”, a Florida historical site on the banks of the Loxahatchee River.

Maggie shares : “ The biggest thing to share was that it was a bit nerve-racking to run solo through Florida swamps, where there were known alligators, snakes, panthers, etc. Doing things that scare you is important though. You just have to be brave and believe in yourself, because then a whole new world of possibilities open themselves to you.”

Way to go Maggie! Maggie also shared in her IG post : “ Is this the year of the FKT?“ We certainly hope so!

knows how to FKT; with seven under her belt, she has experience with pushing through to snag a fastest known time. Just before Christmas, she claimed the overall FKT on the Oahu Circumnavigation. This 138.2 mile route was originally a road relay race and is quite popular with local ultrarunners. finished her supported run in 25 hours and 20 minutes, the fastest time recorded by anyone.

Says Clark, “This FKT is one of the most meaningful FKTs I have done. I have always wanted to run around the island since I lived there from 2015-18…It was everything I could have hoped for and more. I had so much fun even when it got tough, and I am so thankful I had the chance to see so much of an island I still think of as home.”

Well done !

We’ve got a throwback to May when Sophie Littlefair set the overall FKT on the Scottish National Trail - a 535 mile trail across the highlands, climbing over 57,000 feet with unpredictable weather. spent nearly 12 days on this route, so you’d expect there her to have some ups and downs, but Sophie has nothing but positive things to say about her first FKT. She says “”Generally speaking, I loved every second of my adventure. I don’t subscribe to the ultrarunning tropes of “”pain caves”” and “”suffering””. I recognise how privileged I am to have the health, time and financial stability to be able to attempt these things. Being out in the Scottish countryside and hills everyday is something I will remember forever.”” Sophie ran supported with the help of her husband, Phil, and a friend, Mike and she’s incredibly grateful for their support, saying “”This was a proper team effort.”” Fabulous work, Sophie!

Carley Dykstra's first FKT was on the Worcester East-West Trail in Massachusetts. She went to college in Worcester and at the time she "had no idea there was this trail network right under my nose." Once she found out about it though, was excited to explore it. The first time she tried, she got off course and added 3 miles to the route. She decided to give it another try though and improved on the previous FKT by more than 45 min! Carley said "This route showed me that even efforts that appear simple can surprise and challenge you. And that it’s important to have fun out there regardless if you succeed in your efforts." Excellent advice Carley!

Regina Massingill has been eyeing the Big Bend 100 route for 2 years. Now she holds the overall FKT for it! This route is particularly special to her because it completes her goal of setting FKTs on the 3 longest trails in Texas. says "The course isn't particularly hard on paper, but the logistics are so difficult in this remote desert that even getting to the start line sometimes seemed impossible. This experience pushed me out of my comfort zone in so many ways: recruiting a crew willing to drive across the state, consulting strangers (one ended up pacing me!) who had experience, going on solo scouting runs where there wasn't even a trail, learning how to create and read gps routes, starting my effort in the dark." This route doesn't have a trail to follow in many sections and if you read her FKT report you see how much her scouting and planning paid off in the final effort. She's chose an unconventional evening start to make sure she was on a key section by daylight. Overall though she says "The best part has witnessing firsthand how it's impacted others around me - exposing these Texas trails to a larger audience, generating awareness for FKT in general, and demonstrating that it's OK for women to be a little competitive." Keep on inspiring us Regina!

Calling all FKTers! Laura Parson is working on a book and film project highlighting people attempting and completing FKTs. She has completed FKTs herself and wants you to be a part of the project. One of the goals is to bring into focus underrepresented groups participating in this sport, highlighting the challenges and experiences of BIPOC, women, and non-binary FKT’ers. You can find out more about her project at:
https://ultrarungal.com/the-fkt-project/
and complete the survey at:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfw31G4V6HSb3_UsSVLFhoLD2sqtqOJmK9dOHGhu0Nm9HBr9A/closedform

You can also find links to Laura's project in our bio.

The Oneonta Gorge Falls Loop in Oregon’s Columbia Gorge is a route that presents some unique challenges. Fourteen miles long with 3,240 feet of climbing, this loop course has been impacted by fire in recent years, resulting in rough and rowdy trail that is rarely used and overgrown with thick undergrowth. Technical trails with numerous water crossings add to the thrill, slowing travel and making an FKT even more difficult to reach. None of that seemed to slow down though, as she shaved an hour and a half off the women’s time this past November. This was her second FKT. “Great FKT route,” says , “and one of my new favorites in the Gorge!” Maybe we’ll see her lower her time again next year? Congratulations !

Suzzanne “Sunny” Stroeer did not just complete the R2R2R-alt FKT but twice, besting her previous by 2 hours and completed the route in 20 hours, 10 minutes and 15 seconds. The "Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim" (R2R2R) is a world-class route, starting on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, running 5,000′ down to the Colorado River, across a bridge, then 6,000” up to the North Rim. Then back again. However, this isn’t challenging enough for Sunny, who added swimming In the Colorado ! shares: “ The challenging part of this FKT is not the physical aspect - if you can run a Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, you can run this route a lot faster than I did it. What makes the R2R2R-alt FKT a wild and very consequential adventure is the remoteness, the (in spots) bush wacky and route-findy nature of the “trail” and, of course, the fact that you have to swim the Colorado River at the bottom.

The swim is a big deal for three reasons:
1. You are swimming the Colorado in between two major rapids, Bass (4) and Shinumo (4)
2. The water is extremely cold and bound to trigger a cold shock response - I experienced that during my first R2R2R-alt in 2020 and it was extremely unsettling
3. You can’t just get in and out of the river anywhere - most of this section of the Colorado is guarded by steep cliffs, so you have to get it right

As Buzz (who pioneered the route) commented on the FKT page after I posted my trip report: “Jumping into that water alone at night would be a huge emotional hurdle. It's 55d, a strong current, and you have to hit the correct take-out spots which are flanked by cliffs. A courageous FKT!”

We agree completely, Sunny! This is an amazing adventure and you sharing your takeaways with us! Sunny leaves us with this advice :
Words of advice: If you are considering this route, look up my strategy for the river crossing on the FKT site. I think I nailed the gear choices on this go around and feel a lot better about the river crossing with that setup than I did after the 2020 adventure.

We are so excited about the 28 women's nominees for FKT of the Year! Sixteen of the 28 nominees set their very first FKTs when they accomplished their noteworthy performance. Burly FKTs times were lowered, gnarly new routes established, and the strength of women athletes demonstrated across all of these achievements. We have compiled brief summaries of each women's nominee if you are interested in learning more about the athletes and their records. Link is in bio.

Congratulations to all nominees! The top five performances will be announced by Fastest Known Time during the first week of January.

The Old Croton Aqueduct was NYC’s first water supply system, built between 1837 and 1842 and supplying water until 1955. Water was supplied until 1955. Today, it’s a great historical preservation 42 mile trail for local runners and hikers, and it is one of ’s favorite places to train. She recently set the first women’s FKT on this route as part of her training for Cocodona.

Her reasons for chasing FKTs are inspiring. “For me, FKT is not just a personal challenge but for women’s empowerment,” says Redpath. “Ultra trail running is still gendered, and generally dominated by men. Women, especially older women, including myself, tend to hesitate to challenge due to external factors, such as hormonal changes, raising children, and career development. But I’m hoping my experiences will help many women to remove these barriers because I am just one of the ordinary women who love my sport. People always say, “Age is just a number.” But I want to add that the more age you get, the more opportunities you have and the more intelligent you are!!

We love this! Thank you for showing other women how to get out there and go for it. We’re excited to see what you do next!